Five chinese cereals - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Chinese Five Cereals are a group of 5 farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

ed crop

Crop

Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...

s, mainly cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

s or grain

GRAIN

GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...

s (except soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

s, which are legumes), which were all important in ancient China and regarded as sacred, or their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boon from a mythological or supernatural

Supernatural

The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

source.

The name is sometimes translated as "Five Grain

GRAIN

s," "Five Sacred

Sacred

Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...

Grain

GRAIN

s," or "Five Crop

Crop

s" as the word "gǔ," derived from "valley

Valley

In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

" in this ancient set phrase is less specific than narrower translations than "crop

Crop

," and the phrase benefits from a very obvious homophonic relationship of "gǔ," "crop

Crop

" with "gǔ," "ancient" including "palaeo-" in Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, so although not traditional in literary circles, the phrase might best be translated as "Five (Mainly Mill

Mill (grinding)

A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...

able) Seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s" for greater biological accuracy, including medicinal applications of the optional group member hemp

Hemp

Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

Mythological and Archaeological Origin of Wǔgǔ Cultivation

The sense of sacrality regarding Wǔgǔ

Wugu

Wugu may refer to* Wugu District, a district of New Taipei, Republic of China * Five Cereals , a set phrase meant to indicate important farmed crops in China since the beginning of its agricultural history, though particular categories and species within this group vary* Tufa Wugu, founding prince...

proceeds from their being traditionally sourced from saintly rulers creating China's foundational culture wholesale. What is being claimed is not merely these culture givers preferring Wǔgǔ

Wugu

among many crops, but that it is because of the Wǔgǔ that agrarian society

Agrarian society

An agrarian society is a society that depends on agriculture as its primary means for support and sustenance. The society acknowledges other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses the importance of agriculture and farming, and was the most common form of socio-economic oganization for...

became possible, marking a profound, legendarily sudden shift from hunter-gatherer

Hunter-gatherer

A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...

and nomadic patterns of life, which surrounding tribes continued to practice, thus making the central and lower Yellow River

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...

plains a distinctively settled heartland, a center or middle for those tribes which would come to consider themselves the central Middle Kingdom, or China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

Mythological Wǔgǔ Cultures

There are at least 3 traditions, often appearing in the same ancient Chinese texts such as the Shiji regarding which mythological early Emperor of China

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

introduced the Wǔgǔ

Wugu

Shennong, Divine Farmer Tradition

The earlier emperor is Shennong

Shennong

Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...

, "Divine Farmer" , often depicted in the historical landmark act of ploughing, to cultivate these crops, and who is also known as "Emperor of Five Grains" , and by ancient historical tradition is sited as ruling 2737–2699 BC in preliterate times as noted in List of Chinese monarchs where he is listed as Yandi, Flame Emperor, personal name Shennong

Shennong

Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...

though Shennong

Shennong

Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...

is clearly a title and ancient texts such as Shiji cite both different personal names for him, and in Shiji's case purport a dynastic series of Yandi, whether or not one family, and attempts to place Shennong

Shennong

Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...

in sequence in this series.

Huangdi, Yellow Emperor Tradition

The later emperor is the Yellow Emperor

Yellow Emperor

The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...

, cited as ruling 2699–2588 BC in preliterate times, who is Shennong

Shennong

Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...

's successor and/or succeeding senior emperor with Shennong

Shennong

Shennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...

as junior emperor (like senior Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

and junior Caesar

Caesar

-People:* Julius Caesar , Roman general and dictator* Augustus Caesar , adoptive son of the above and first Roman Emperor* Gaius Julius Caesar , father of the dictator...

when both existed as co-ruling Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

s), when their tribes merged after the Battle of Banquan

Battle of Banquan

The Battle of Banquan is the first battle in Chinese history as recorded by Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. It was fought by Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, and Yandi, the Flame Emperor. The Battle of Banquan may actually only refer to the third of a series of three battles. Huangdi, the...

as the combined Yanhuang

Yanhuang

Yan Huang was the name of an ethnic group of ancient China who inhabited the Yellow River basin area. They claimed their descent from the two tribes led by the Yan and Yellow Emperors. Their main achievement was to join together and strengthen the basis of the two tribes and their civilized...

tribe, which is referred to by the concatenation of the names of the 2 tribes' leaders. The Yellow Emperor

Yellow Emperor

is also credited in ancient texts with first teaching their cultivation to his/their Chinese subjects.

Houji, Lord of Millet Tradition

Houji, Lord of Millet also variant , is credited either with original or exemplary cultivation of millet and wheat, or with the original provision of millet to humanity, obtained from heaven. Either a son of Di Ku, thus a Great-great grandson of the Yellow Emperor

Yellow Emperor

or born from virgin birth after his mother stepped in a divine footprint, he was elevated to Prince of Millet by King Chen Tang of Shang

Tang of Shang

King Cheng Tang of Shang was the first ruling king of the Shang dynasty in Chinese history. He overthrew Jie, the last ruler of the Xia dynasty.-Early life:...

, founder of the Shang dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

, and claimed as founding ancestor of the royal house of the Zhou dynasty

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...

which succeeded the Shang dynasty

Shang Dynasty

. Houji was worshipped as one of the patron gods of abundant harvests, like Lai Cho.

Archaeological Wǔgǔ Cultures

Archaeologically, Pengtoushan culture

Pengtoushan culture

The Pengtoushan culture , dating 7500–6100 BCE, was a Neolithic culture centered primarily around the central Yangtze River region in northwestern Hunan, China. It was roughly contemporaneous with its northern neighbor, the Peiligang culture...

ca. 7500–6100 BCE on the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

has left tools of rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

farm

Farm

ing in some locations, though not at the first type site; Hemudu culture

Hemudu culture

The Hemudu culture was a Neolithic culture that flourished just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The site at Hemudu, 22 km north-west of Ningbo, was discovered in 1973...

ca. 5000-4500 BCE by the coast South of the Yangtze River

Yangtze River

cultivated rice

Rice

.

Xinglongwa culture

Xinglongwa culture

The Xinglongwa culture was a Neolithic culture in northeastern China, found mainly around the Inner Mongolia-Liaoning border. Xinglongwa pottery was primarily cylindrical, and baked at low temperatures....

ca. 6200-5400 BCE in far Northeastern China around the Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...

-Liaoning

Liaoning

' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...

border ate millet

Millet

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...

, apparently through agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

.

Dadiwan culture

Dadiwan culture

The Dadiwan culture was a Neolithic culture found primarily in Gansu and western Shaanxi, China. The culture takes its name from the earliest layer found at the type site at Dadiwan. The remains of millet and pigs were found in sites associated with the culture...

ca. 5800-5400 BCE, along the upper Yellow River

Yellow River

ate millet

Millet

; Nanzhuangtou

Nanzhuangtou

Nanzhuangtou 12600-11300 BCE was a Neolithic Yellow River site near Lake Baiyangdian in Xushui County, Hebei, China. The site was discovered under a peat bog. Over forty-seven pieces of pottery were discovered at the site, making Nanzhuangtou the site of the oldest pottery yet discovered in...

culture ca. 8500-7700 BCE on the middle Yellow River

Yellow River

around Hebei Province had grinding tools. Later Yangshao culture

Yangshao culture

The Yangshao culture was a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the central Yellow River in China. The Yangshao culture is dated from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The culture is named after Yangshao, the first excavated representative village of this culture, which was discovered in 1921...

, ca. 5000-3000 BCE on the Yellow River

Yellow River

grew millet

Millet

extensively and sometimes barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

and rice

Rice

and vegetables, wove hemp

Hemp

and silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

which depends on a supply of mulberry

Mulberry

Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....

leaves and other silkworm fodder, but may have been limited to slash and burn

Slash and burn

Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique which involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology or other tools. It is typically part of shifting cultivation agriculture, and of transhumance livestock...

methods.

Succeeding cultures on the Yellow River

Yellow River

and elsewhere, which are indeed archaeologically dated with some rough connection to the legendary traditional dating of mythological agriculture

Agriculture

-founding Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors reigns, which were early explicated by ancient Chinese historians as possible whole dynasties of reigns rather than single individuals, would increasingly suggest wider-scale and more intensive farm

Farm

ing methods which facilitated the development of the rest of Chinese

China

civilization

Civilization

Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...

by making ordinary daily provisioning a lesser concern, at least for some. By Longshan culture

Longshan culture

The Longshan culture was a late Neolithic culture in China, centered on the central and lower Yellow River and dated from about 3000 BC to 2000 BC...

ca. 3000-2000 BCE along the Yellow River

Yellow River

, sericulture

Sericulture

Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...

, farming of domesticated silkworms for silk

Silk

production is found, and definite cities appear, which depend on more advanced farm supply.

Karuo culture

Karuo culture

The Karuo culture was a Neolithic culture in Tibet. The culture cultivated foxtail millet. The type site at Karuo was discovered in 1977 at Qamdo County, Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet and excavated from 1978 to 1979. The site covered an area of 10,000 m²...

ca. 3300-2000 BCE in Tibet, now Western China, cultivated foxtail millet

Foxtail millet

Foxtail millet is the second most widely planted species of millet, and the most important in East Asia. It has the longest history of cultivation among the millets, having been grown in China since sometime in the sixth millennium BC...

Mythological and Historical Lists of Wǔgǔ Seeds and Crops

There are various versions of which five crops or even broad categories of crops are meant by this list.

The Chinese Five Cereals may be first listed in Fah Shên-chih's text on farming circa 2800 BCE entitled Fah Shên-chih Shu, "Fah Shên-chih's Book" (which must be a mythological text as such a date predates coherent Chinese history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

texts as well Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

oracle bone

Oracle bone

Oracle bones are pieces of bone normally from ox scapula or turtle plastron which were used for divination chiefly during the late Shang Dynasty. The bones were first inscribed with divination in oracle bone script by using a bronze pin, and then heated until crack lines appeared in which the...

inscriptions. (citation of historical Chinese text(s) referring to such a source needed.)

The Classic of Rites

Classic of Rites

The Classic of Rites , also known as the Book of Rites, Book of Customs, the Record of Rites, was one of the Chinese Five Classics of the Confucian canon. It described the social forms, governmental system, and ancient/ceremonial rites of the Zhou Dynasty...

compiled by Confucius

Confucius

Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

(traditionally September 28, 551 BCE – 479 BCE) from older sources lists soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

s, wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

, proso millet

Proso millet

Proso millet is also known as common millet, hog millet or white millet. Both the wild ancestor and the location of domestication of proso millet are unknown, but it first appears as a crop in both Transcaucasia and China about 7,000 years ago, suggesting that it may have been domesticated...

, foxtail millet

Foxtail millet

and hemp

Hemp

. Another version replaces hemp

Hemp

with rice

Rice

(citation of original Chinese text name needed ), whose cultivation is a preoccupation of texts throughout Chinese

China

historical culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

, and the first cultivation of rice

Rice

is of continuing sociopolitical as well as anthropological interest in Chinese archaeology

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

and that of other Asian regions.

Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

(June 18, 618 CE–June 4, 907 CE) Buddhist Master Daoxuan (pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Dàoxuān)’s Ritual of Measuring and Handling Light and Heavy Property (Liangchu qingzhong yi 量處輕重儀) lists 5 categories rather than 5 single species of seeds

SEEDS

SEEDS is a voluntary organisation registered under the Societies Act of India....

: house grain (fanggu 房穀), loose grain (sangu 散穀), horn grain (jiaogu 角穀), beard grain (manggu 芒穀)76, and cart grain (yugu 輿穀), and in species form these categories include foxtail millet

Foxtail millet

(su 粟), sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

(shu 黍, or gaoliang 高粱), proso millet

Proso millet

also known as broomcorn millet (shu 菽, or ji 稷), paddy, which implies rice

Rice

(dao 稻), wheat

Wheat

(mai 麥), perilla

Perilla

Perilla is the common name of the herbs of the genus Perilla of the mint family, Lamiaceae. In mild climates, the plant reseeds itself. There are both green-leafed and purple-leafed varieties, which are generally recognized as separate species by botanists. The leaves resemble stinging nettle...

(ren 荏), all kinds of bean

Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....

s (dou), and linseed (ma or jusheng). Huilin 慧琳’s Pronunciation

Pronunciation

Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....

and Meaning of All Scriptures (Yiqiejing yinyi 一切經音義) cites Yang Chengtian 陽承天’s dictionary Assembly of Characters (Zitong 字統), with the similar categories suigu, sangu, jiaogu, qigu, and shugu. Other versions including one modern Chinese dictionary note other candidates including sesame

Sesame

Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....

, barley

Barley

, oats

OATS

OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...

, and peas

PEAS

P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....

Modern Ritual and Culinary Usage

Some assortment of 5 grain

Food grain

thumb|150px|Barleythumb|150px|LentilGrains are small, hard, dry seeds harvested for human food or animal feed Agronomists also call the plants producing such seeds grains or grain crops....

s or small dry bulk crops such as beans continue to be used in Chinese

China

ritual

Ritual

A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....

contexts, as in the Southern Chinese "Min Nan

Min Nan

The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....

(Hokkien

Hokkien

Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....

) Traditional Custom (Taboo

Taboo

A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...

) (閩南民间禁忌)" of creating a folk

Folk

The English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun, *fulka meaning "people" or "army"...

Daoist stove to cook “Chui Zhao Fan (hkk: Cui Zao Pheng),” a meal for the Kitchen God

Kitchen God

In Chinese folk religion and Chinese mythology, the Kitchen God, named Zao Jun or Zao Shen , is the most important of a plethora of Chinese domestic gods that protect the hearth and family with the addition of being celebrated...

in which such an assortment of 5 dry seed

Seed

s are placed into a slot in the chimney of the stove. In this context, casual worship practices may simply use beans of 5 different colors instead of 5 different types of cereals or crops.

Culinarily, for voluntary human consumption rather than offerings

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...

to spirits, Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...

is not known for any single recipe using all 5 categories or any subset of analogously differentiated species, so there is no notable dish in the way there are a generally agreed Five-spice powder

Five-spice powder

Five-spice powder is a mixture of five spices endemic to Chinese cuisine, but also used in other Asian cookery as well.-Formulae:The formulae are based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food. There are many variants. The most common is bajiao , cloves, cinnamon, huajiao ...

mix of Chinese seasonings or the varying ingredients used in the single dish ba bao fan (八寶飯) or "eight treasure rice" noted under Glutinous rice

Glutinous rice

Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...

.

Used individually or in combinations of just a few ingredients at a time, however, the possibly hundreds of "Wǔgǔ" crop species and their various parts such as leave

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

s, stalks

Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...

, seed

Seed

s, flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s, and root

Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...

s, especially if all the bean

Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....

s and grain

GRAIN

s are included categorically, underpin much of Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine

and indeed most cuisines globally, since they include a large portion of starch

Starch

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...

y foundation foods and ingredients.

Chinese culinary expressions of Wǔgǔ include pasta

Pasta

Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...

s such as noodles, wonton

Wonton

Not to be confused with WantonA wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.-Filling:...

and spring roll

Spring roll

Spring rolls is an umbrella term used in some Western cultures to describe disparate varieties of filled, rolled appetizers similar to the Chinese chūn juǎn , from which the term was derived...

s, bun

Bun

A bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....

s and bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...

s, many steamed, the use of soy and other Wǔgǔ in sauce

Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...

s and oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

s and as fermentation

Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...

aids or principal ingredients in beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

and alcoholic beverages, in tofu

Tofu

is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...

and cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

-like foods, steamed or boiled then possibly stir-fried or deep-fried or baked starch

Starch

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...

bases of meals such as fluffed rice

Rice

, chow mein

Chow mein

Chow mein is a Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties.-Etymology:...

or puffed shrimp chips, gruels such as congee

Congee

Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. It can be eaten alone or served with a side dish. Names for congee are as varied as the style of its preparation...

, and a wide range of savory, salty, sour, and sweet applications including fillings for pastries such as bean paste

Sweet bean paste

Sweet bean paste is a food ingredient used in several Asian cuisines. Within Chinese cuisine, it is primarily used as a filling for sweet desserts and Chinese pastry.- Production :...

s of every available color in moon cakes and in ba bao fan (八寶飯) or "eight treasure rice" noted under Glutinous rice

Glutinous rice

, as well as dilute beverages such as rice milk

Rice milk

Rice milk is a kind of grain milk processed from rice. It is mostly made from brown rice and commonly unsweetened. The sweetness in most rice milk varieties is generated by a natural enzymatic process, cleaving the carbohydrates into sugars, especially glucose, similar to the Japanese amazake...

in which Wǔgǔ items may be suspended in water or otherwise in liquid solution.

Mythological and Archaeological Origin of Wǔgǔ Cultivation

Mythological Wǔgǔ Cultures

Shennong, Divine Farmer Tradition

Huangdi, Yellow Emperor Tradition

Houji, Lord of Millet Tradition

Archaeological Wǔgǔ Cultures

Mythological and Historical Lists of Wǔgǔ Seeds and Crops

Modern Ritual and Culinary Usage

See also